Several young faces vie for Cong tickets in Jalandhar
Sunday, 21/08/2016
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JALANDHAR: Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh’s announcement to give at least 35 seats to young candidates during the 2017 assembly polls, has evoked an enthusiastic response with many young faces of the party, especially from nonpolitical family background, applying for tickets.
Leading the race is Punjab Youth Congress chief Amarpreet Singh Lalli, who has applied for the ticket from the Garhshankar assembly segment of Hoshiarpur district. Lalli, 33, a grassroots worker of the party is counted among close confidants of the Rajya Sabha member and the party’s campaign committee chief for Punjab Ambika Soni.
A Jatt Sikh, Lalli, sources said, is claiming the ticket as the SAD candidate from the area Surinder Singh Bhulla Rathan is also a Jatt Sikh. He is equally close to the Amarinder camp and is eying a ticket against two-time former MLA Love Kumar Goldy – a Brahmin. From the same constituency, Congress spokesperson Nimisha Mehta, 33, also a Brahmin, has also applied for the ticket and has been active in the area for the past many months.
A former state vice-president of the Punjab Mahila Congress, Nimisha, is eyeing ticket from the constituency terming his original family roots in the segment. She has even set up her political office in Garshankar and is already campaigning in the villages. Party sources said the woman leader, who is not associated with any group, is banking upon her links for the ticket on certain senior leaders in the Congress high command.
In Jalandhar, Youth Congress Lok Sabha president Ashwin Bhalla, 36, has applied for the ticket from the Jalandhar North constituency against threetime former MLA Avtar Henry. Bhalla is a surprise applicant from the seat as he belongs to the Bhogpur..
But, he is quite active in the city and has applied from Jalandhar North, a segment dominated by Hindu voters as he also belongs to the Hindu family.
“Bhalla is hoping that party may change candidate as Henry, a Jatt Sikh, has lost last two elections from the segment. Moreover, the party is not finding any suitable local replacement of Henry,” said a leader, who is the brain behind Bhalla’s move.
From Jalandhar West (reserved), sitting councillor from ward 46 of Jalandhar municipal corporation, Sushil Rinku, 41, has also applied from where, only former PCC chief Mohinder Singh Kay Pee’s family had contested polls in the past.
Rinku, whose family has been continuously winning the ward for past seven terms, is a well known face in the constituency, and started his career as a leader of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) – a student wing of the Congress.
In the Dasuya segment, NSUI leader Sunny Mehta (26), has also applied for the ticket. He is a strong youth leader and is active in the segment. He has been seeking ticket against local leader Arun Dogra.
In Jalandhar Cantonment, Lok Sabha Jalandhar vicepresident of Youth Congress, Gagandeep Singh Kaku Ahluwalia, 28, has applied. “It’s a good sign that the Congress has decided to give preference to young candidates. It does not mean that it’s a sort of party infighting, rather it’s a healthy trend for the party,” says Youth Congress president Lalli.
From traditional ruling families, Avtar Henry’s son Bawa Henry from Jalandhar North, and Nawanshar MLA Guriqbal Kaur’s son Angad Singh have also applied for tickets.
